Southern: Postseason set to begin, if Mother Nature allows

The weather might suggest otherwise, but June is upon us and a bevy of postseason action is on its way.

In multiple sports.

If you blink, you’ll miss it, so here’s what’s happened and what’s to come with the conclusion of the spring season right around the corner.

Rain, rain, go away.

Baseball

Ace pitcher Curtis Sullivan hopes to lead Cape Elizabeth’s top-ranked baseball team on a deep playoff run. File photo.

Forecaster Country baseball teams are looking strong heading into the tournament.

Cape Elizabeth finished first in Class B South after a 12-3-1 regular season and began its title Thursday at home versus No. 8 Morse (9-8) in the quarterfinals. The teams didn’t meet this year and had no playoff history.

If the Capers advanced to Saturday’s semifinals, they’ll host either No. 4 Medomak Valley (9-7) or No. 5 Fryeburg Academy (10-6). Cape Elizabeth beat the visiting Raiders, 7-4, on April 26. The Capers won both prior playoff meetings over Fryeburg Academy, with a 6-0 victory in the 2007 Western B preliminary round the most recent. Cape Elizabeth’s lone prior postseason encounter versus Medomak Valley resulted in a 10-2 victory in the 1985 Western B quarterfinals.

The Class B South Final is Tuesday of next week at St. Joseph’s College in Standish. The Class B state game is Saturday, June 17, in Bangor.

In Class A South, South Portland finished second behind Falmouth after a 13-3 campaign. The Red Riots hosted No. 10 Kennebunk (10-7) in the preliminary round Thursday. On May 16, South Portland held off the visiting Rams, 4-2. The teams’ only previous playoff meeting resulted in a 4-3 Red Riots’ victory in the 1991 Western A semifinals.

If South Portland makes it to the semifinals Saturday, it will host either No. 3 Scarborough (11-5) or No. 6 Marshwood (11-6). The Red Riots beat the visiting Red Storm, 5-3, May 27. The teams have split four previous playoff meetings, with Scarborough’s 3-2 (11-inning) victory in the 2019 Class A South Final the most recent. South Portland blanked the host Hawks, 9-0, May 18, and won three of the four previous postseason encounters, with a 4-2 victory in the 2019 Class A South semifinals the most recent.

Scarborough held off visiting Marshwood, 5-4, in eight-innings, back on April 28. Last year, the Hawks upset the Red Storm, 3-2, in the quarterfinals to take a 3-2 all-time lead in the teams’ postseason series.

The Class A South Final is Tuesday of next week at the University of Southern Maine in Gorham. The Class A state game is Saturday, June 17, also in Gorham.

Softball

The South Portland/Westbrook co-op squad and Scarborough were still alive in the softball playoffs at press time.

South Portland/Westbrook finished 12-4 and fifth in Class A South and went to No. 4 Gorham (11-5) Thursday for a quarterfinal round tilt. In the regular season finale, May 29, the host Rams rallied for an 11-10 victory.

If South Portland/Westbrook advances, it will either go to top-ranked, defending state champion Biddeford (15-1) or host No. 9 Cheverus (9-8) in Saturday’s semifinals. South Portland/Westbrook lost at home to the Tigers, 10-5, on May 6 and won at the Stags, 15-5 (in five-innings) May 11.

Scarborough wound up sixth in Class A South after a 10-6 season. The Red Storm were at No. 3 Kennebunk/Sanford (14-2) in Thursday’s quarterfinals. Scarborough lost twice at home to Kennebunk/Sanford to end the year, 4-0 and 6-2.

If the Red Storm sprung the upset, they’d go to No. 2 Windham (14-2) or host No. 7 Thornton Academy (10-7) in Saturday’s semifinals. Scarborough beat the host Eagles, 6-5, April 29 and lost, 5-3, at the Golden Trojans May 16. The Red Storm are 4-3 all-time versus Windham in the playoffs, although the Eagles prevailed in last year’s semifinals, 6-0. Scarborough has beaten Thornton Academy in seven of eight prior postseason encounters, with an 8-4 victory in the 2019 Class A South Final the most recent.

The Class A South Final is Tuesday of next week at USM in Gorham. The Class A state game is Saturday, June 17 in Gorham.

In Class B South, Cape Elizabeth finished 7-9 and 12th, but only 11 teams qualified for the playoffs.

Boys’ lacrosse

Cape Elizabeth’s boys’ lacrosse team, the two-time Class A state champion, wrapped up a 14-0 regular season with its 20th consecutive victory last Wednesday, 13-3, over visiting Greely. Sam Cochran scored three goals, while Connor Goss and Tom Hennessey added two apiece. The Capers are the top seed for the Class A state tournament and host No. 9 Noble/Sanford (10-5) in the state quarterfinals Saturday. The teams didn’t meet this season.

South Portland finished 11-3 and third in Class A and will play host to No. 6 Windham (9-5) or No. 11 Deering (6-8) in the quarterfinals Saturday. The Red Riots didn’t meet the Eagles this season and the teams have no postseason history. South Portland beat the host Rams, 18-5, on May 3. The teams have never met in the playoffs.

Scarborough ended up 5-9 and 10th in Class A and played a preliminary round contest at No. 7 Bangor (9-5) Wednesday. The teams didn’t play this spring and had no playoff history.

If the Red Storm moved on to the quarterfinals Saturday, they’d go to No. 2 Falmouth (12-2), a team that beat them, 10-2, in the regular season finale. The squads have never before met in the playoffs.

Looking ahead, the Class A state semifinals are Wednesday of next week, on the fields of the higher seeds. The Class A state final is Saturday, June 17, at Fitzpatrick Stadium.

Girls’ lacrosse

Scarborough senior Olivia O’Brien possesses the ball during last week’s loss at Freeport. Michael Hoffer / The Forecaster

On the girls’ side, Scarborough ended up 3-11 after closing with an 11-6 loss at Class C favorite Freeport last week. Molly Henderson scored three times, but the Red Storm couldn’t keep up in the second half.

“I’m super-proud of how we’ve been adjusting,” first-year Scarborough coach Taylor Colangelo said. “To hang with Freeport for three-quarters of the game before they took off, shows we’re adaptable. We felt confident in what we were doing. When we convert on attack, it’s really pretty and when we can’t convert, it’s not so pretty. That’s what we’ve been struggling with, but we’ll hone in on that. I love our defense and how aggressive we are and how we play clean lacrosse.”

Scarborough earned the No. 13 seed in Class A and went to No. 4 Thornton Academy (10-4) Wednesday in the state preliminary round. The Red Storm lost their season opener at home to the Golden Trojans, 12-7, April 20. Scarborough was 2-1 all-time versus Thornton Academy in the tournament, but the Golden Trojans won the most recent encounter, 11-6, in the 2014 Western A semifinals.

“We’ve worked hard for a playoff spot,” Colangelo said. “We’re definitely peaking at the right time. Our record doesn’t show how good a team we are or the skills we have. We’re building and now we’re 0-0. We have good energy heading into the playoffs. We have nothing to lose. As long as we play what I consider good Scarborough lacrosse, we’ll find ourselves in fun situations over the next week-and-a-half.”

If the Red Storm sprung the upset, they’d go to No. 5 Marshwood (10-5) for the quarterfinals Saturday. On May 17, the Hawks won, 15-0, at Scarborough. The Red Storm are 3-1 all-time versus Marshwood in the postseason, with a 12-10 victory in last year’s quarterfinals the most recent.

Cape Elizabeth finished 4-10 and 14th in Class A after closing with an 11-7 home loss to Thornton Academy last week. The Capers were at No. 3 Yarmouth (10-4) Wednesday in the preliminary round (see our website for game story). Cape Elizabeth lost twice to the Clippers this season, 14-3 on the road April 26 and 16-6 at home May 26. The Capers are 2-3 all-time versus Yarmouth in the playoffs. The Clippers won the most recent encounter, 17-4, in the 2021 Class B state quarterfinals.

If Cape Elizabeth sprung an upset, it would play at No. 11 Gorham (9-6) in the quarterfinals Saturday. The Capers lost, 9-8, at the Rams April 27. The teams have no playoff history.

Looking ahead, the Class A state semifinals are Wednesday of next week, on the fields of the higher seeds. The Class A state final is Saturday, June 17, at Fitzpatrick Stadium.

South Portland finished 3-11 and 20th in Class A, but didn’t qualify for the playoffs, as only 15 teams made the cut.

Tennis

No local tennis teams made it beyond the semifinal round.

Cape Elizabeth’s boys, ranked fourth in Class B South, beat No. 5 Erskine Academy (5-0) in the quarterfinals, then lost to eventual champion Yarmouth (4-1) in the semifinals to wind up 9-5.

The Capers girls, seeded third in Class B South, edged No. 6 York (3-2) in the quarterfinals, then lost, 3-1, to Lincoln Academy in the semifinals and finished 9-5.

Scarborough’s boys, ranked fifth in Class A South, knocked off No. 4 Portland (3-2) in the quarterfinals, then lost to eventual regional champion Falmouth, the top seed, by a 5-0 score in the semifinals to wind up 9-5.

The Red Storm girls, the No. 2 seed in Class A South, defeated No. 7 Sanford (4-1) in the quarterfinals, then lost to No. 3 Kennebunk in the semifinals to finish the year 12-2.